You may remember me from a few months ago asking about halloween moon crabs and the care required for them. I had just purchased one and after 7 months I am happy to say, Avicii is still alive and well (my crab, not the musician unfortunately). I enjoy taking care of him, strenuous work to make sure his conditions are just right are rewarded with a delightful night of listening to him walking around his 10 gallon enclosure, climbing on top of his cork log, stacking tall mountains of substrate from hollowing out his burrows, and eating all that I feed him most of the time. Unfortunately, to him I am Bigfoot, if he suspects I am nearby when he is out walking, he will scurry at nearly lightning speed back into his hole. So, needless to say, he still doesn't like me that much, even though it's been a couple months since I last handled him. Recently I started thinking about upgrading his crabitat from the 10 gallon tank I purchased the week I got him to at most a 20 gallon (that's probably the most my parents would allow me to keep in the house lol). I would assume he is starting to get bored of digging out of nothing but the same small amount of space for a long time, it also gets very crammed in there as well, food dishes and water dishes have ended up sinking into the holes he makes and he has had to make do from a lot of cave ins after sometimes his tunnel can't with stand the weight of the dish. I would also like to begin to suit his climbing instincts, after getting a new tank perhaps getting some tree limbs and sticks from outside and letting him climb. Another thing that would put probably put him at ease would be to cover the underground portion of the outside of the tank with a backdrop, which would probably take stress off of him when he's hiding and he still sees people walking past the tank, etc. All of this is written down or in my mind but I would like to get a perspective from you professionals. Here are the details of Avicii's current environment:
10 gallon aquarium tank
About 7 inches deep eco earth coconut fiber substrate, mixed with rocks and calcium substrates
Spaghnum moss
Cork log, hollowed out
Single plastic dish for saltwater bathing
Grate on top to prevent my cat from getting in and to prevent my crab from getting out
Mini Deep Dome Lamp with red ultraviolet light and electric pad for heat.
This isn't much different from what I see other people doing for their Moons, but considering I only have 7 months experience, I was wondering what I should do to upgrade his living standards for his living pleasure. How can I also make it more natural, etc.
